Avatar was a film that took the world by storm back in 2009, controlling the box office and showing film aficionados a new way to watch movies. The digital style that James Cameron created specifically for this movie would change the way most people viewed films going forward. The first Avatar made 2.7 billion dollars worldwide and later was rereleased and made a couple hundred thousand more, bringing its total up to 2.9 billion dollars worldwide. That being said, it still didn’t win the Academy Award for Best Picture that year, The Hurt Locker won. Ironically enough, directed by Cameron’s ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow. Since then, he took it personally and has taken the movie industry by storm. He created new techniques and used them to great effect in Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to Avatar. He once again blew filmgoers’ minds with the look and visual effects he used in crafting this sequel. Now it’s time for the third film in this trilogy to come out, and I can honestly say he has done it again. Avatar: Fire and Ash is a visual spectacle for the eyes. There isn’t a movie this year that looked as good as this one does. That’s why it’s one of the best films of the year bar none. I’d say it’s easily a Best Picture contender come next year’s Academy Awards.

Pandora is a planet that is filled with the indigenous life that we know by now are the Na’vi. Along with them are thousands of creatures gorgeous and dangerous alike. Some help the Na’vi and others don’t help them. In fact, they are threats. The other thing is that there are many different tribes of Na’vi. Some who aren’t very nice or cooperative with the other tribes on the planet. Along with these tribes who are at odds with each other are the military forces who continue to drain the planet of any useful sources of energy or fuel. They literally take everything they want because they feel like they can do whatever they want because they are a powerful galaxy wide entity. These threats are still prevalent and cause the Na’vi a lot of trouble because of the things they are doing. The Na’vi are connected to everything on the planet, and when these creatures are threatened, then they are threatened as well. All things work in harmony together for the most part. Until the outside threats came in and caused problems for them and the planet as a whole. This is the environmental message Cameron has been trying to push forward in the context of these movies.

The last two Avatar films established a group of characters for filmgoers to follow along with. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) has embedded with the Na’vi and created a family with them. His lover Neytiri “ (Zoey Saldana), Oscar winner since the last Avatar movies has come out, is by his side with their children and adopted son Spider (Jake Champion). They are all living in perfect harmony with the planet and its creatures under the water, on land, and in the air. They are constantly under pressure, though, because of a new tribe of volcano Na’vi and those military personnel. Ash (Oona Chaplin) is the leader of the new tribe that is introduced and Miles Quaritch (Stephon Lang) in a new Na’vi form is still resentful towards Worthington’s character for taking his son. He wants to get him back any way he can. He is tasked to go after his son and the Na’vi by General Ardmore ( Edie Falco). She’s a pretty nasty character who doesn’t take no for an answer. She wants to eliminate the Na’vi from Pandora any way she can. She has no sympathy for any creature on the planet, let alone its main indigenous race of people. Even animal creatures have a concern about how things have transpired on the planet. 

With the help of Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver, Cameron has crafted a story that expands on the established story that has already been created.With the length of a little over three hours longs Avatar: Fire and Ash has a handful of subplots that it adds to the main story of the film. There are things characters have to deal with or overcome from the previous movies. That means this isn’t a short film. The side stories all add a good element to the main storyline. You get to see stuff involving the young Na’vi children and many of the other characters as well. The story is very dense because of all the things the screenwriters had to get into the script. It wasn’t easy for Cameron and the rest of the writers who crafted this specific story. They added in environmental aspects and geo-political elements. These things help the film get bigger and bigger from a length of  perspective. That being said, I didn’t feel the length at all while watching the movie. It was so exciting and packed with so many visual things that  I couldn’t help but get lost in what I was watching. When a film does to its viewers that it’s a good thing. You want the audience to get caught up with what’s going on on the screen and not even be concerned by a film’s length.

I know this is going to come off as a pretty obvious assessment, but I can’t write a review of the picture without talking about the CGI, mo-cap work, and visual effects. This franchise is coming off of two Academy Awards wins for Visual Effects. It’s been pretty obvious that this is the strength of the franchise thus far. It would be hard for Cameron and company to surpass what they’ve already done, but they have done even better with the third film in the trilogy. This movie is absolutely breathtaking to behold. The water looks as real as any fake water I have ever seen before in my lifetime. It felt like I could reach out and touch it. It looked so real. The creatures, machinery, equipment, and all of the other technology looked very real. The Na’vi were excellently brought to screen once again. I was in complete awe of what I was watching. It’s the most beautiful movie I’ve seen all year. And it’ll win a third Oscar for Visual Effects at next year’s Academy Awards. You can put it in the bank. 

A lot of people go to the Avatar movies because of the spectacle, the beauty, and the wonder that this franchise brings from film to film. I love the trilogy for those reasons as well, but there are other reasons I love these films. One of the reasons is what Cameron stands for and why he’s making these movies in the first place. He wants to show his concern for the planet. The oceans, forests, skies, and other parts of the planet.The films are a metaphor for our own planet that is in danger from ourselves.The militants in this and the other movies in the franchise are who he uses to show the viewers of what is going on. They are taking everything in vain from the creatures and the planet of Pandora itself. That’s what we do as a society. We are endangering our own planet because we rob it of its natural resources like trees and wildlife and minerals. I love the fact that this film and the others have been a message to viewers to show we all need to start caring about our planet. It’s very important!

 James Cameron has made his fair share of popcorn flicks and blockbusters. His films have had the biggest box office total multiple times in his career. He’s made sequels of some of the biggest pop culture films of all time. Alien and The Terminator. He didn’t need to continue to make Avatar movies except to keep breaking the barrier of technology and showing he could improve the way movies are made over and over again. I guess he just does it to show he can do it over and over. As a filmmaker, I am in awe of him because of what he’s able to accomplish time and time again. I loved this film as well. I would like to see him do something else. Like maybe an MCU or DC movie. Until then, I’ll continue to enjoy these movies and that he’s making the messages that they have within them. He’s one of the best directors on the planet, and if this is what he chooses to do, then so be it. I’m sure Disney/20th Century Studios is happy to have him working for them.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” is an astonishing film that works on every level. It’s a spectacle for the eyes with the CGI and gorgeous visual effects. It has great characters that have already been established and introduced news one fans can fall in love with or hate for that matter. The story has depth and levels to it. It all depends on what viewers are looking for. Cameron and company up the ante with all of the things they do behind the scenes using motion capture and other camera techniques. They are always pushing the envelope with how they make these films look. There are so many adjectives I could use to describe how much I love this film. I just can’t say them all here. I choose to let audiences watch this movie for themselves and see what I’m talking about. That’s how films should be experienced anyway by the eyes and years of the audience. The audience’s views are what matters most.

5 stars

Dan Skip Allen